During an event put on by the Portland Business Journal today, a commercial real estate broker asked Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff when the company planned to move into providing information on commercial properties, according to a report by the Oregonian. Rascoff said that the company has heard the same thing from “dozens” of other brokers and leaders in the commercial real estate industry, but Zillow isn’t making any promises about whether it would move into the market.

Still, the encouragement is a far cry from Zillow’s usual reception among real estate agents. Rascoff said he has to “convince people we’re friend, not foe,” in the residential real estate industry.

The difference between the two markets is one of control. LoopNet, which bills itself as the “largest commercial real estate listing service online,” has a massive amount of control over the display and marketing of commercial listings. That’s a far cry from residential real estate agents, who often prefer to work with local multiple listing services.

Zillow entering the commercial market could put new competitive pressure on LoopNet, and give commercial agents greater control over their listings. There’s a chance Zillow would be interested in moving into the market, considering that CoStar, LoopNet’s parent company, recently entered into an agreement to buy Apartments.com, which would put it in closer competition with Zillow.

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Comments

hfklaw

It would be an event of epic proportions if Zillow entered the commercial real estate market. Loopnet currently dominates with Xcelegent pushing up the rear and trying to get into the same space. There are also numerous, smaller, regional sites also competing in the same space, which would make it difficult to be successful. With that being said, the competition would be great for all, but Loopnet.